Search Party season 2: release date, cast, news, and everything you need to know

TBS announced their renewal of the offbeat mystery-comedy back in December 2016, and the date for the US premiere of Season 2 has finally arrived. Here’s everything there is to know about the show’s recent return.

What’s the latest?

Season 2 has premiered on TBS. If you’re in America you can watch it right now, here.

Star Alia Shawkat says: “season 2 is all about paranoia and fear”

2 episodes will be released every week for a total of 5 weeks, until late December.

As well as a new, darker tone, viewers will be seeing April (Phoebe Tyers) back on screen – alongside a major new character.

Purity Ring are likely returning to compose new music for the series.

When did Search Party season 2 out?

Search Party has a US release date of November 19th, 2017. The Guardianreports a UK release on All4 in 2018 – we’ll update this page as soon as we hear more specific news.

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First-look pictures hint at some disagreement over the burying of a body – that of P.I. Keith, whom Dory accidentally killed at the end of season 1. There’s also what looks like an awkward reunion for Chantal with her parents, and some seriously tense-looking hiding of evidence by Dory. See a sample below, and the full selection over at Entertainment Weekly.

Check out these first look stills from the set of Search Party- https://t.co/upqHKMgQqm Season 2 premieres on November 19th!

Where did season 1 end?

Season 1 ended with the revelation that there really wasn’t a mystery after all – the married man Chantal had been involved with had called it quits, and she’d run off to lick her wounds at her friend’s summer home. It was here that Dory and the gang, all with the best intentions of bringing Chantal safely home, ran into DIY-detective Keith Powell, and ended up accidentally killing him: all in the name of self-defence, of course.

How many episodes are there in season 2?

10 – the same as Season 1. However, this time 2 episodes will be released each week for a total of 5 weeks, making for a unique roll-out that combines standard binge-watching with just a hint of finely-tuned anticipation.

Which of the cast are returning?

Alia Shawkat (Dory), John Reynolds (Drew), John Early (Elliott), Meredith Hagner (Portia), Clare McNulty (Chantal) and Brandon Michael Hall (Julian) are all set to reprise their roles, as confirmed by both behind-the-scenes photos and promotional artwork.

Phoebe Tyers will be returning as April, as well as Jennifer Kim, who plays Agnes, and Portia’s mother, portrayed by Christine Ebersole. Things are looking markedly less good for Ron Livingstone – his character Keith has been confirmed as quite definitely dead for the upcoming season.

What are the cast and crew saying about season 2?

Alia Shawkat has promised an “intense” and “scary” second season, loaded with “Hitchcock paranoia.” She’s also made clear that the new season is by no means going to attempt to rehash the structure of the first (“it’s definitely not going to be like another search”), and has described Season 1 as Dory “looking for herself”, whereas Season 2 is more a question of “how do you deal with [your identity] once you’ve found it?”

Executive producer Charles Rogers has been more specific, revealing the season kicks off “on a brutal note with the friends burying a body together” – a scene he describes as “realistic and unsettling.”

In addition, John Early claims he found Season 2 “very scary…we did a read-through of the first five scripts and I was genuinely like, ‘this makes me so anxious.’” He also revealed that the second season will feature “new characters played by very exciting actors.”

Any new cast members?

J Smith Cameron will appear onscreen as Mary, an activist-turned-Senate-hopeful, whose campaign is joined by Dory and Julian. Shawkat has stated “she is a huge character this season”, with executive producer Michael Showalter hinting that she will “pose challenges to Julian’s strict code of morality” – claiming that this dynamic adds “a really strong aspect to the new season.”

J Smith Cameron

Other new faces include a shy, well-meaning policeman (Tymberlee Hill), Jay Duplass as a cunning director who clashes with Portia, and Keith’s ex-wife (Judy Reyes.)

What’s going to happen in season 2?

Season 2 kicks off with the unfortunate foursome figuring out how to best cover their tracks, as well as confronting the awkward question of what to do with Keith’s corpse – which, in Shawkat’s words, “is almost the YouTube version of ‘How do you bury a body?”

Guilt looks set to be a pervasive theme this season, rendering Dory in particular “unstable and paranoid,” according to creator Showalter. And as the tone darkens, the stakes go up – Shawkat has described the evolution between seasons as going from “Nancy Drew to Hitchcock”, with Season 2 being all about “paranoia and fear… something [is] definitely attacking [the gang] at all points.”

What next for Search Party?

With the premiere of Season 2 still a little way off, there hasn’t been any confirmation – or indeed, much discussion at all – as far as a third series goes. Sadly, it looks like viewers will just have to wait and see the denouement of Season 2 before any further details are released.